Heathrow Airport, Britain’s busiest travel hub, was shut down on Friday due to a nearby fire and power outage, leading to chaos for thousands of travelers. Airlines advised passengers not to travel to the airport and to check for updates online. With about 80 airlines operating at Heathrow, inbound flights were being diverted to other airports in Europe or sent back to their original location. British Airways, the most affected airline with 340 scheduled flights, redirected all flights to alternate airports. Virgin Atlantic canceled all flights until 9:30 p.m. and urged passengers to check their flight status online. Air France had canceled eight return flights to Heathrow, while KLM canceled three flights from Amsterdam. Lufthansa rebooked all Heathrow flights and urged customers to keep their contact details updated. Qantas, Qatar Airways, and Air India also faced disruptions, with flights canceled or diverted. Airlines stated that canceled flights would be rebooked free of charge. Share prices of airline companies dropped in European trading, with IAG and Air France-KLM being hit the hardest. Ryanair added additional flights between Dublin and London Stansted airports to help stranded passengers. The situation at Heathrow Airport is still evolving, causing significant challenges for airlines and passengers.
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